Auld Acquaintances II
by JamesBCrazy
Summary: Oneshot/Minific. Written after Volume 5, Chapter 11. Six months have passed since the Fall of Beacon and everyone was finally recovering. After being lured into and utterly demolished in the fight with Cinder's group, the team must again deal with depression and loss... in their own ways.


**Disclaimer: If I owned RWBY, I wouldn't still be writing fanfics at 8 PM on New Year's Eve.**

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 **March 23**

 **Blake Belladonna**

For the first time since she was a child, what Blake was doing felt _right_. The time for sightseeing and traveling the world was over; the coming battles would be the test of all that she had learned over the past few years. Thankfully, she knew that she wouldn't have to face this trial alone. She had built a rebellion against the splinter faction that had most likely taken over the very organization the Belladonnas had helped build with their own hands. As the ship neared the coast of Mistral, she was only sure of one thing. Adam would pay for what he had done. The true White Fang – the Faunus who fought for equality, not revenge – would be avenged.

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 **March 29**

 **Jaune Arc**

It may not have been destiny that brought Team RWNJYROQ (that's a mouthful) together, but Jaune could now certainly say he believed in it. With Aura, Semblances, the Maidens, and magic now known to exist, who could say destiny was off the table? Barely a year ago, he was just another scrawny teenager who thought he knew way too much about the world. Now, he was preparing for the fight of his life – _for_ his life – against an enemy he knew outclassed him. Still, Jaune knew that his ragtag group of students (plus Qrow, not that he counted for much even when sober) had one advantage over the criminals, thieves, and murderers under Salem's control: They never knew when to give up. As the team prepared for the long walk to Haven, he was only sure of one thing: Cinder would pay for what she had done. Pyrrha – the one who sacrificed everything for the smallest glimmer of hope – would be avenged.

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 **March 30**

 **Qrow Branwen**

Of _course_ it had to be a trap, and Raven – his "beloved older sister" – had to be working with _Salem_ of all people. Either she had lost her goddamn mind or she was planning something. Qrow certainly hoped it was the latter. Why else bring Vernal, the most pitifully obvious Maiden of all time, with her, but tell her to hold back and not use her powers against the Schnee girl? (Not that that did her a lot of good in the end.) Why go through all the trouble of setting up the fight, only to abandon the rest of her so-called allies for a one-on-one grudge match? Why leave the White Fang out of it when everyone knew they had a large number of soldiers in the area? As he rushed to his niece's aid, he was only sure of one thing: He needed another drink, and – shit, Ruby found his secret stash again.

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 **March 30**

 **Ruby Rose**

It was all Ruby could do to stay optimistic, or at least to appear that way. She was confused more than anything. Birds that were Grimm, Grimm that were rocks, and rocks that were about to slice her head open if she didn't – wait, never mind, Uncle Qrow was here and he looked angry. Or focused, she still could never tell the difference. And then there was the cheese. The delicious cheese, and the cider. Was that what that was? She couldn't remember. She reached inside the cloak she had wrapped herself in, and pulled out her damaged Scroll, which displayed a picture of herself and Yang and Weiss... no, don't think about Weiss, now she couldn't _stop_ thinking about Weiss, what was she doing again? Oh, right, Uncle Qrow. He was talking to Oscar – the Professor? – about something, but Ruby couldn't tell what. She could see the young farm boy looking at her dejectedly and... was he _blushing?_ Could he be… never mind, Yang brought cookies to cheer her up! With strawberries in them! She was only sure of one thing, but she forgot what it was and passed out.

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 **April 1**

 **Yang Xiao Long**

This "watching people you care about get hurt, die, or leave" thing was really starting to get old for Yang. The fight with Cinder and her goons had done grave damage to the team, both physically and mentally. The worst part of it all was that Raven was with them. The blonde brawler had long since abandoned any hope of a peaceful family reunion, but seeing her so callously start the fight? That was the straw that broke the camel's back. If she had not noticed the bird hiding among the rafters – the red eyes were a dead giveaway – would she have simply continued to spy on them? No, Lionheart was in on it too, there was going to be a fight one way or another. Six months ago, fighting was what Yang lived for. Now, after the rematch – perhaps the first match at full strength – she prayed she wouldn't be fighting for nothing. The only victory achieved by the "good guys," however small, was that everyone now knew exactly how hard this fight would be. Although the odds were near-impossible, Yang knew that there was only one way she would be made to stop fighting, and she was never going to let that happen. She may not be a world-class fighter, or even close to one, but who needs exceptional skill when you have exceptional heart? As she looked out into the rising sun, she saw the ships approaching, and she was only sure of one thing: The fight was not over yet.


End file.
